Upgrades? What are they and how do you get one?

[raina*faith]

I apologize for sounding silly, but I'm not sure what an upgrade is and I know there are plenty who who know. Does everyone get an upgrade and when do you get it?

[Merion_Mom]

Upgrade:

 

1. Free: pay for your cabin, then discover sometime before you cruise or at check-in at the pier, that the cruiseline has given you a "better" or higher category cabin. Almost never happens.

 

2. Paid: get to the pier, ask at the pier coordinator's desk: any available cabins? you pay one set price (per cabin, not per passenger) to get that better cabin. Happens occasionally.

[Corby44]

Sometimes a free upgrade doesn't work out quite like you had hoped. We always book an inside cabin somewhere near the center of the ship. On one cruise they gave us a free upgrade to an outside cabin. We thought we were in hog heaven. The cabin they gave us was at the front of the ship and was near a door that went to a crew area. That door was banging open and closed all night with crew traffic. Also, I think our bed was right over the bow thrusters. Every morning when we docked the darn things were roaring. All in all we would have rather been in the cabin we booked. When we book now we say we do not want an upgrade.

[CRUZFOOLS]

We booked inside guaranteed (2nd deck) and when we received our docs we were upgraded to a larger inside on deck 6.

[md40901]

For our Honeymoon we booked a inside grt. And when we got our paperwork we found out we got upgraded all the way up to a balcony our TA was even suprised and said that that large of an upgrade rarely happens this would have cost us about $700 When we only paid $1200 to begin with. We were on Carnival Miracle.

[Merion_Mom]

ummm.......I think that the question from the Original Poster was being asked about Royal Caribbean............your experience on Carnival would be irrelevant here. :D :D :D :D

[beachchick]

Carol: Very true, especially since Carnival is known for being fairly generous with the free upgrades and RCI is most definitely not.

 

The answer to the original question is exactly as you have said: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch, except on those oh-so-rare occasions when the upgrade fairy visits. Nobody really knows how the rare free upgrades are selected. Get the cabin you will be happy with and then if lightning strikes or there happens to be a pier upgrade for purchase, it's just extra icing on the cake.

 

beachchick

[raina*faith]

It was great md40901 that you had an upgrade for your honeymoon cruise on Carnival.

We had our honeymoon on NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS and didn't need an upgrade. We had the most romantic experience for our lives and take our hats off to RCCL!!!! ;)